International August Preparatory Summer Camp

Now that I have returned from Thailand the second part of my job involves teaching, assisting, and welcoming international students to a preparatory summer camp to prepare them for their long term stay in Canada and their first time in a Canadian high school environment. This program is a three week summer camp involving four out of the five days purely in the classroom and focusing more on academics, while the remaining day is designated to a field trip. I have been involved with this company and doing summer camps like this one and others for the last four years. I know what to look for and know the important things to address upon their arrival to make their adjustment as smooth as possible. This year however was a little different from previous years in that this is the first year our company has welcomed refugees from Syria. I personally was given the project to work with our one refugee one on one and to prepare him for his first year in high school. I was very excited to have the experience to work with him and also to try and make a difference in his English Language journey. For half of the first week that he was part of the group I spent that time trying to see what his English abilities were like. After the second day together I learned that even though he had been in Canada for almost five months he had no knowledge of spoken or written English. Already this year would be different but also a challenge. Luckily I had the assistance of a high school student that was just beginning her grade 12 year that was eager and ready to lend a helping hand. Together we devised a plan as to what to do in the three weeks that we had and also the most important and beneficial things that would be taken away after the summer camp was over. I never thought my life nor career would fall down this path but I’m glad it did. Being the first and primary teacher to the start of someone’s English language journey is something that will never be forgotten. I can’t wait to see what next week will bring.